Peasant Digging

The influential work, Peasant Digging, created by Jean François Millet French, 1814-1875 in 1863, is a powerful example of the artist's enduring engagement with rural life and the dignity of labor. Classified as a print, this piece was executed as a woodcut from a partially inked block on ivory laid paper. The deliberate decision to use partial inking creates a raw, atmospheric quality and maximizes the dramatic contrast between the dark, heavy figure and the surrounding light, enhancing the sense of arduous effort required for the task.

Millet, a key figure in 19th-century French art and the French Realist movement, often chose subjects that contrasted sharply with the idealized imagery favored by the official Salon. The solitary, monumentalized figure shown here, bent over the earth, symbolizes the deep connection between the rural working class and the land, a theme that resonated strongly during a period of intense social and economic flux in France.

While the artist is widely known for his oil paintings, Millet devoted significant energy to producing prints, utilizing the directness of the graphic medium to convey emotional weight and textural complexity. The technique of partial inking allows the grain of the wood and the texture of the laid paper to become active elements in the composition, enhancing the viewer's perception of struggle. Today, this artwork, along with many other important 19th-century prints, is widely available through public domain initiatives, ensuring access to masterpieces of French art. The Art Institute of Chicago holds this significant 1863 work in its esteemed collection of European graphic art.